GB2313291A - Excrement collector - Google Patents

Abstract

An excrement collector comprises a pair of arms 14, 16 connected to a pair of looped head assemblies 10, 12 which can be moved together and apart. In a preferred embodiment, the arms are slidably mounted within a sleeve 20 and the head assemblies are biased away from each other so that they move apart as the arms slide out of the sleeve. Each head assembly may be a rectangle formed from a single piece of bent wire, and may be formed integrally with its respective arm, preferably from stainless steel. In use, a plastic bag is placed over the head assemblies, which are then moved together to entrap and remove items of excrement. The sleeve is preferably of sufficient length to prevent significant bending by the user.

Description

LIFTING DEVICE This invention relates to a device for lifting objects or matter from the ground, and more particularly but not exclusively, concerns a device for lifting dog faeces from the ground.

The problem of dog excrement fouling public highways and recreation areas is familiar to all. Dog faeces are not only extremely unpleasant when encountered but also a potential health hazard. There is a high incidence of the parasite Toxocara sp. in domestic dogs, which can be transmitted to humans with particularly distressing symptoms in children. The most common route of infection is via contact with the faeces of infected dogs.

It is with these considerations in mind that many town and borough councils are now making dog owners responsible for clearing their pet's faeces from any public place.

It has already been proposed to use dustpan type scoops for clearing up faeces. Use of such devices requires bending to scoop up the faeces for disposal and then presents the secondary problem of cleaning the scoop. In addition, the lifting action may be hampered by obstructions on the ground surface such as long grass or loose gravel.

It is an object of the present invention to mitigate the disadvantages described above.

It is common practice in retail premises when handling foodstuffs for the shop assistant to handle the goods with a plastics bag between fingers and the food being sold.

Once the food is gripped by the bag, the bag is inverted and turned inside out, to package the food article hygienically. It is one aspect of the present invention to use this technique, hygienically to dispose of animal faeces or any other unpleasant article.

With the invention, a pair of looped heads of a tool resembling a pair of tongs is used to receive the closed end of a plastics bag in the space between the looped heads in an open disposition, and the open end of the bag is arranged over the outside of the looped heads. Still with the looped heads in their open disposition, the tongs tool is brought to the unpleasant object, and the looped heads brought to a closed disposition, to trap the object between the two walls of the plastics bag and inside the peripheral loops of the tongs' heads. With the object thus trapped, the user can hygienically manipulate the open end of the bag, to bring it off the distal end of the closed tongs, and seal the neck of the bag, thereby sealing the unpleasant object within the bag. Once the open end of the bag has been brought together at a neck, the bag can be released from the tongs simply by relaxing the tension holding in the closed disposition the two looped heads of the tongs.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for lifting an object or matter from the ground surface, the device comprising: i) a first looped head fixed to the distal end of a first arm and a second looped head fixed to the distal end of a second arm, said first and second arms being joined at their proximal ends, ii) means for moving said first and second looped heads between an open disposition and a closed disposition, the size of the looped heads being sufficiently large that they define an open planar space within each loop which is at least 10cm long and 10cm wide, with the open disposition of the heads leaving a gap between the heads which is at least 7cm wide.

While a conventional pair of tongs, but constructed much larger than, for example, cooking tongs, might serve the purpose required in the present invention, it is preferable that the action of closing the looped heads is achieved by a different action. The preferred action is not unlike the one used by those who clear public parks of litter, involving a downward thrust of a long-handled tool in order to capture the offending object on the distal end of the tool. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first and second arms are joined at their proximal end and lie largely parallel to each other, within an outer sleeve. The arms are resiliently biased apart so that when the sleeve is in a first disposition, with its lower end relatively far from the looped heads, the looped heads reside in their open disposition, and a plastics bag can be arranged over the heads, prior to use of the tool.

Then, in use, the looped heads and bag are placed over the object to be removed, with the bottom edge of each looped head resting on the ground, and then the operator drives the sleeve downwards to a lower disposition where the lower end of the sleeve is adjacent the looped heads. This downward sliding movement of the sleeve on the arms of the tool brings the distal ends of the arms close together within the sleeve, and brings the looped heads into their closed disposition. The tool remains stable in this disposition so that it is not necessary for its operator to maintain tension on the tool in order to keep the looped heads in their closed disposition. The user can then bring the looped heads in their closed disposition, with the offending object trapped between them, up to hand height in order to manipulate the bag, form a neck and dispose of the trapped object by pulling the sleeve backwards to its upper disposition, thereby allowing the looped heads to revert to their open disposition, thus freeing the trapped bag from between them.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which: Fig. 1 is a diametral longitudinal section transverse to the plane of the looped heads showing the arms and looped heads in a closed disposition; Fig. 2 is diametral longitudinal section in the plane of the looped heads showing the arms and looped heads in a closed disposition; and Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of a second embodiment of the invention.

The lifting device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings comprises a first looped head 10 and a second looped head 12, said first looped head 10 being fixed to a first arm 14 and said second looped head 12 being fixed to a second arm 16. The first arm 14 and the second arm 16 are joined at their proximal ends 18 and are received in a sleeve 20.

The looped heads 10 and 12 are resiliently biased apart from one another and are movable between an open disposition and a closed disposition by a sliding movement of the arms, 14, 16 into or out of the sleeve 20. When the arms are retracted within the sleeve 20 the heads are held in a closed disposition by the sleeve 20, and when the arms extend out of the sleeve the heads spring apart and have an open disposition.

In use of the device, the arms 14 and 16 initially occupy the retracted position such that the looped heads are in the closed disposition. A bag, preferably of plastics material, is placed over the heads. The arms are then moved into the extended position, and their natural resilience brings the looped heads into the open disposition. The bag is then manipulated to form a recessed pocket between the open heads. The device is then placed over the object or matter to be lifted such that a head lies on either side of the object and the pocket lies over the top of the object. The sleeve is then pushed towards the heads, thereby to bring the arms into the retracted position so that the heads are brought together, pushing the object or matter into the recessed pocket. The open mouth of the bag is pulled back over the heads, turning it inside out whilst retaining the object or matter within. The bag may then be removed for disposal.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in many respects and identical reference numerals have been used where appropriate.

The lifting device differs from that described above in that each head 10,12 and associated arm 14,16 is formed in one piece from bent stainless steel rod. The proximal ends 18 of the rods 14,16 are received in cylindrical stainless steel body 22, that slides within the sleeve 20.

The sleeve 20 is also made of stainless steel.

A stainless steel cap 24 is secured to the end of the sleeve 20. The cap 24 has a pair of holes through which the arms 14,16 pass.

The one-piece construction of each head and arm and the use of stainless steel improves both the durability of the device and also the resilience of the arms, giving improved performance.

Each looped head 10,12 is substantially rectangular and has a straight edge 26 opposite the point at which the associated arm 14,16 is connected to it. In use, the straight edge 26 is placed flat against the ground, thereby ensuring effective removal of the excrement from the ground.

The sleeve 20 is of sufficient length to allow objects to be removed from the ground without the user having to bend down. The sleeve is preferably approximately 50 to 80cm long and the overall length of the device is preferably between approximately 60 and 100cm.

Claims (9)

Claims

1. A device for lifting objects from the ground, the device comprising a pair of arms, each arm having at its distal end a looped head assembly, said head assemblies being resiliently biassed away from one another, and a sleeve member in which said arms are received for sliding movement relative thereto, the arrangement being such that when the arms are retracted within the sleeve the head assemblies are held in a closed disposition and when the arms extend out of the sleeve the head assemblies are in an open disposition.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein each looped head assembly has a substantially straight side located substantially opposite the associated arm.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each looped head assembly is substantially rectangular.

4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each head assembly comprises a loop of wire.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein each head assembly and its associated arm is formed from a single piece of bent wire.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein each head and arm assembly is formed from stainless steel.

7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sleeve is of sufficient length to allow objects to be lifted from the ground without significant bending by the user.

8. A device for lifting objects from the ground, the device comprising a first looped head fixed to the distal end of a first arm and a second looped head fixed to the distal end of a second arm, and means for moving said looped heads between a closed disposition and an open disposition.

9. An apparatus for removing dog excrement from the ground for the hygienic disposal thereof, said apparatus comprising a lifting device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and a plastics bag, said plastics bag being of a suitable size to be placed over the looped head assemblies of the lifting device when they are in an open disposition.